March 3, 2011 5:24 pm

The Seattle Seahawks announced this afternoon that they have released tight end Chris Baker and quarterback Nate Davis.

Baker played in all 16 games in his first and only year in Seattle, and then was placed on the injured reserve with a hip issue for the postseason.

Baker served as Seattle’s blocking tight end, finishing with just nine receptions for 116 yards and a score.

Davis signed a futures contract with Seattle off of the San Francisco practice squad and was considered a developmental prospect for the future.

“He had a great preseason with the Niners,” Seahawks general manager John Schneider said about Davis during the combine last week. “So he’s just coming into this thing. He’s got his eyes wide open right now. But it was an opportunity to look at another guy.”

With Davis gone and Matt Hasselbeck headed for free agency, Charlie Whitehurst is Seattle’s only quarterback under contract.

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Gregg Bell joined The News Tribune in July 2014. Bell had been the director of writing for the University of Washington's athletic department for four years. He was the senior national sports writer in Seattle for The Associated Press from 2005-10, covering the Seahawks in their first Super Bowl season and beyond. He's also been The Sacramento Bee's beat writer on the Oakland Athletics and Raiders. The native of Steubenville, Ohio, is a 1993 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and a 2000 graduate of the University of California, Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism.

I think this is strange also…Davis let go and Matt not signed. In my mind the odds are increasing that there is a deal or a high likely hood of a deal pending to bring a vet to Seattle. Not saying it is done just these moves make it look more likely.

I’m not really surprised by either move. Something will obviously happen with the QB position. There’s no way we go into the season with Charlie and a scrub or two. It’ll either be Matt and Charlie or Charlie and a high pick. I could even see a scenario where it’s Matt, Charlie and a high pick. Heck, maybe it’ll even be Kolb and a veteran signing. You never know.

i think it reflects that Davis while by no means a “dumb” guy just is not showing he has that “it” when working with the complexity that an NFL QB needs. Peyton Manning is not a great QB because of his arm but more because of what he does mentally at the line of scrimmage

I don’t read too much into the Nate Davis release, other than they got a good look at him and decided he didn’t have a future with Seattle. That’s assuming Davis actually came in and worked out with the team/worked with the coaching staff, that is.

But even if not, having a Nate Davis on the roster in March, is not going to impede *any* kind of QB move Seattle chooses to make, be it trading for Tom Brady or drafting Jake Locker or signing Hasselbeck to a 10 year contract or choosing to move Isiah Stanback to QB again. They don’t have to release him in March to pave the way for another move.

With both Sidney Rice and Vincent Jackson essentially out of the picture, what other wide receiver could you guys see the Mariners pursuing. It is obvious that we need to upgrade at the wide receiver. Carroll and company seem to think that Williams and Obomanu will both grow from last season, and although that may be true, neither of them are number one receivers. Whomever the QB may be, we need to get him a legit number one WR. If we can do so, Williams will look even better, with most teams focusing on said number one. The CBA obviously needs to be taken care of first, but I am about tired of hearing about that for the day, and would love to talk a little bit about the Seahawks and free agency.

Can you smell the team maybe working out some back channel deal for Carson Palmer? Maybe also take someone in the first two rounds as well?

I knew Palmer was decent at one time, and although he threw plenty of picks this year, I just compared his stats to Hasselbeck’s. Carson’s are actually MUCH better and he has not missed many games to injury either. Seems like good insurance since he’s familiar with PC and the system.

This is an awesome article. It should get a laugh or two out of you, or just cause for you to slip further into depression. It is also possible that it enhances your hatred for the owners. Whatever it does, it was a good article.

rgbuckl – He’s misses fewer games due to injury than Hass (he missed 12 games in ’08), but yes, he’s generally been far healthier than Matt. That aside though, I don’t see Palmer coming to Seattle. When I consider his age, decline in performance and what it will take to get him, I don’t think it’s in the cards.

And I do think if the right QB (Ponder perhaps) is there for them at 25, it’s likely they grab him.

Undoubtedly. He hit the nail on the head, and put together a solid piece, in which gave a little bit of insight into how almost every NFL fan feels. It is really really unfortunate, that the owners are behaving this way. What ever though, I could ramble for hours about how much I detest the owners. What is even worse about the whole matter, is the fact the owners know that they are complete a$$ holes, yet they could care less. By continuously reporting on camera, that they only “want what is best for the fans”, is straight up spitting in our faces. They could care less about the fans, and it is unbelievably unfortunate.

The way “The Man” became “The Man” is by acting like “The Man.” So the bottom line is, the only people who should be surprised that “The Man” is acting like “The Man” are those people who blindly defend “The Man.”

I hope the owners and players can come to some sort of agreement soon so the ‘Hawks can get to the task of filling the black holes created by releasing two 3rd stringers (though, I suppose Davis rose to back-up via attrition).

Makes ya wonder how they even had time to evaluate Davis more on a one to one basis. He’s only been around since Jan…. The field evaluation done previously got him hired. I can’t help but feel the release has something to do with personality or off field issues…..

from Sando’s column: On the deadline extension…
.
“The deadline extension does not mean any transactions can occur, according to a league source. As part of Thursday’s agreement, even though an extension was granted, the league year has ended. Teams no longer can cut, re-sign players or make any player moves after 11:59 p.m. ET Thursday, until there’s a new CBA. League spokesman Greg Aiello confirmed the transaction freeze via text, saying teams are free to negotiate with players and agents, but signings are prohibited.”

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